Fantastic Modern Asian Tasting Menu Pop-up Experience. Reminds me of 3-Michellin-Star The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare in New York, where Chef Brian Baik worked at. Very hard to book - need to book at ticket release on Tock. We were able to book because a waitlist just opened up. Amazing fresh seafood with a modern twist. We bought our own bottle of Riesling, and the restaurant complimented on our wine choice. It went very well with all the flavorful dishes. $195 per person (2022 pricing). Corkage fee is $30. Totally worth it. Old pop-up location was in Koreatown. New location in Chinatown.
Disneyland Wedding Menu Tasting with Wine Pairing. Disney's Fairytale Showcase is back after the pandemic. Decent food. The Ice Glass Slipper with Champagne Sorbet had the finest presentation ever. It is individually hand-cut with a saw. Soup was served French style, meaning they pour the soup in front of you. The salad was very refreshing. The Mac Murray Ranch Pinot Noir was light and nice. Fess Parker Riesling has always been great and more affordable. The Disney Fairy Tale Team was amazing and wonderful to work with.
Ice Glass Slipper with Champagne Sorbet
Roasted Cauliflower Soup garnish with curry croutons
Citrus Salad with Mache & Frisée Bouquet pomelo, poppy seed vinaigrette Paired with Century Cellars Chardonnay
American Wagyu New York Strip morel mushroom ragout, truffle jus Roasted Sturgeon with Scallop Mousse, Beurre Blanc watercress purée, rainbow carrot curls, kohlrabi, pea sprouts Paired with Mac Murray Ranch Pinot Noir
Dark Chocolate Crunch Cake with Cherry Crème Brûlée Center and Cherry Compote Strawberry Champagne Flight
Strawberry Champagne Flight Details
Fess Parker Riesling and Mac Murray Ranch Pinot Noir
Cool New Peruvian Japanese Restaurant. Innovative fusion with great taste. The sauce, seasoning, and toppings differentiate itself to traditional Japanese cuisine. Friendly and fast service. Got to meet the owner Eduardo Chang Ogata from Peru. Corkage fee is $20.
Octopus Fire $19 parrillera sauce, lemon sauce, chalaquita
Tested Japanese Thinly Sliced Grilled Beef Recipe. Missing this dish I had in my childhood from Unkai Teppanyaki at Sheraton Hotel in Hong Kong. Tried to recreate it from memory. It came out great, just as I remembered.
Ingredients: Thin Beef Slices Garlic - Thinly Sliced Bean Sprouts – A Handful Garlic Chives (Chinese Chives) - A Few Bunches, Sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt
Pepper Soy Sauce (optional) Ponzu (Chopped Green Onions and Grated Radish optional)
Directions: 1. Grease grill with a rubber brush and cook sliced garlic. Brush garlic with oil. Grill until garlic became garlic chips and set aside.
2. Grill garlic and garlic chives together. Brush will oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of soy sauce (optional). Set aside when cooked.
3. Grill beef slices. Brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Plate flat when cooked. Wrap with bean sprouts and garlic chives and garlic chips.
4. Serve with ponzu sauce and enjoy.
Best Katsudon in Town. Long-time in the neighborhood. Their Katsudon was featured in publications. Can ask for the dinner menu and order dinner combo during lunch. Serves alcohol.
My first unboxing video featuring DeJapan! (Unsponsored honest review) I have been researching on buyers in Japan, aka Japan proxy shopping service, for a few times now. After reading some reviews and comparison, I decided to give DeJapan a try. They help you purchase products from most Japan sites, have them shipped to their warehouse in Japan, consolidate them (even from different shops), and ship to you. It's a game changer to save on shipping, especially for those Japan-only items.
Fees They don't charge commission. All they charge is 100 yen consolidation per item (or per listing), which is very minimal and includes insurance. If you order 2 or even 10 of the same item, it will still just be 100 yen total. If you purchase a bundle of items under 1 auction listing, it is counted a 1 item as well.
They would charge 100 yen coordination fee if you need them to ask the seller a question, want to negotiate the price, or ask about shipping. However, if the negotiation has already been addressed in the listing comments, they will not charge it.
Please note that they charge additional 500 yen handling fee per listing for Mercari and PayPayFleaMarket due to additional coordination involved.
If you are ordering a lot of items from the same site, you may consider skipping the 100 yen per item consolidation fee by unchecking the consolidation box when you order, but please note that it will void the insurance as well. I tried it twice. It made me very nervous, but I ended up receiving the package with no problem and saving a lot on the consolidation fee.
Shops I have ordered with them from Yahoo Auction, Amazon, Fril, Mercari, ShopDisney, Sanrio, Aniplex, etc. No problems with them. Please note that some websites do block proxy service such as Rakuten, Yodobashi, and Movic. Hence, we cannot purchase from them. Packing Fees I have been using the free one and never had a problem with it.
Shipping Their shipping fees are upfront and are clearly listed: https://www.dejapan.com/en/delivery_fee.html. I have only been using the surface mail to save on shipping. It takes 3 months to arrive, but I haven't have a problem with it. Tracking is provided.
Process Shop > Submit > Pay for items (PayPal or credit card) > Items arrives at DeJapan warehouse > Combine up to 25 orders (different shops ok) > Pay for consolidation fees + domestic shipping + international shipping
Concern So far I have only experienced 1 small problem once: The buyer only shipped partial of a bundled listing. I inquired DeJapan about their insurance. They said since it has been more than 3 months (due to the surface mail shipping), it's hard to trace back what happened, and there is nothing they could do about it. They tried to reach out to the seller but had gotten no response. It's ok. What was lost was minimal, offset by the low cost service they offer. I ending up purchasing the missing items I wanted from another seller.
Sample Cost (Items from Yahoo! Auctions Japan)
Items
Cost
Domestic Shipping
Blu-Ray Movie Box Set
4200 JPY
2420 JPY
Illustration Print
500 JPY
210 JPY
Sticker
280 JPY
84 JPY
Combination Price (100 JPY x3)
300 JPY
International Surface Shipping
2900 JPY
TOTAL
10894 JPY
Credibility They
are 100% reliable. I have ordered from them a few times and have
received my items. Their customer service is great and responsive. If you are unsure about what the Japanese means, they would translate it for you. I would highly recommend them!
Sushi Nakazawa Pop-Up at Four Seasons Miami. Not Jiro's type of Sushi. Too Americanized... or better categorized as "Fusion Omakase". Daisuke Nakazawa, apprentice of Jiro (Dreams of Sushi), seems to be a hype in America. Wasn't sure about the sashimi with strawberry, unless if they have a really good reason. Mediocre service. They only talked to people they know. When we were at Jiro Sukiyabashi in Tokyo, we asked Jiro's team about Nakazaya. Unfortunately, they told us that they felt like they have been betrayed (their name was being used). 19-Course for $250 per person. Sake was overpriced. However, this review is specific to the pop-up menu. Went to their Michelin-star New York location in 2019. It was ok but not wow. Dinner was 2 hours. LA branch opening soon.